KnitCrate is a monthly yarn subscription box for knitters and crocheters! Each box includes a new exclusive yarn and corresponding patterns for knit and crochet projects.
They offer four different subscription options:
- Membership Crate: $24.99 per month, for two skeins of their in-house premium yarn, exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet, and an extra
- Sock Crate: $19.95 per month, for one skein of their in-house premium fingering weight yarn, exclusive knit and crochet patterns in a booklet, and an extra
- Malabrigo Partner Crate: $45.00 per quarter, for a box curated by Malabrigo and KnitCrate that includes delectable yarns, notions, and exclusive knitting patterns
- Mrs. Crosby Travels Partner Crate: $69.99 per quarter, for a box curated by Mrs. Crosby Travels that features three skeins of yarn, notions, and exclusive knitting patterns inspired by different parts of the world
This review is of the KnitCrate Membership Crate for $24.99 a month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About KnitCrate Membership Crate
The Subscription Box: KnitCrate
The Cost: $24.99 per month (other plans available from $19.95 per month)
The Products: Two skeins of premium yarn, a pattern booklet (contains 3+ patterns!), and an extra
Ships to: The US and worldwide for free!
Good to Know: All members receive 25% off shop purchases, and earn points for every dollar you spend on your subscription and any orders from their shop. You also can earn points for reviewing the yarn on their website! Points can be redeemed for cash off of shop purchases or can be used towards your regular subscription.
KnitCrate Membership February 2020 Review
KnitCrate Membership is the flagship box from the KnitCrate brand. In my opinion, it’s the best box to start with if you’re looking to expand your knitting knowledge or expand your yarn stash! The yarn they send is from one of their in-house brands, and it’s always very high quality.
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KnitCrate Inspirations Booklet, February 2020 - Retail Value $40.00
The pattern booklet included a download code so that you could add the PDF version to your Ravelry library. When I used the code it listed the booklet as having a value of $40, but at the time of our review, the booklet is not currently for sale as a separate item.
The theme this month is "Once Upon a Yarn," which is a dreamy pastel colorscape. They describe it as "a candy-coated world where deadlines don't exist and there's always time to cast on something new." Sign me up for living in this wonderful world they are describing!
Also, this box continues the influencer-curated boxes for 2020. February's influencer is Glenda Winkleman, known as Creative Grandma, who is a crochet designer and instructor. The booklet goes into a little bit of background on her fiber story, and why she chose the yarn base and colors for this month.
KnitCrate has "Color Vibe" options, where you get to choose which color family you would like to receive. Coordinating with those three color options are three colorway combinations available this month: Flirt (Energize Me), which has speckles of hot pink, orange, and light purple; Sprout (All Natural), which has speckles of sage green, tans, and browns; and Sky (Chill Out), which has speckles of light blue, dark blue, and purple. All three color options are speckled on a creamy white base, and your box will include two skeins of one of these colorways.
The KnitCrate Membership box always has one knitting pattern and one crochet pattern included. I love this inclusivity for both crafts, as a lot of yarn-focused boxes and companies have an emphasis on knitting only. This month both the knitting and crochet patterns are for hat and mitt sets - I love when the patterns are takes on the same type of project! Both projects feature interesting textured stitches.
The back of the booklet shows a sneak peek of the theme for February - it will be “Wanderings,” and I can’t wait to see what they come up with from this color palette and inspiration - those moody jewel tones and landscapes are calling my name!
The booklet also contains two patterns for the Sock Membership Crate box. You can find out more information about this box by reading our previous reviews and visiting the KnitCrate website.
Now, onto the good stuff - the yarn!
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Audine Wools Shine Sport by KnitCrate in "Sky" - Retail Value $52.00 ($26.00 per skein)
I received the Chill Out color this month, which has gorgeous blues and purples throughout the cream-colored base. The yarn is a sport weight, and is made of 80% superwash merino and 20% tencel. It has a really lightweight feel to it, and the yarn feels almost crisp - tencel is a type of fiber made from wood pulp, and this yarn has a more cotton-y or bamboo feel to it, which makes sense since it is made from the same plant family. The yarn almost glows with a sheen, and it has a really loose drape to it. Each skein contains 350 yards in the 100 grams, so we have 700 total yards to play with this month!
I am so glad to see that KnitCrate is continuing the special labels for the influencers like they did last month! How cute is the little cartoon of Creative Grandma?
Handmade Painted Flower Button - Retail Value $8.50
The extra this month is really nice! It's a handpainted ceramic button that measures about 2" across. This company is really neat - it's located in South Africa where these buttons are created and handpainted. The button is fairly heavy, so I would be cautious on using it with knitwear (depending on the weight of the yarn). I am planning on saving it to use as a closure or accent on a project bag!
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Since we had so much yardage in the crate this month, I couldn't help but make a garment with my yarn! Although I do like making accessories, I'm a sweater knitter at heart. I decided to make the Lounging Top by Joji Locatelli, and I think this yarn is absolutely perfect for this pattern! The top is designed to be a drapey, easy-to-wear T-shirt type of top, and this yarn is so lightweight and soft. The construction of how you make this top is brilliant - you end up with a seamless sweater and the sleeves are knitted at the same time as the body. I love the sleeve detail shown in the second photo above!
This yarn was very easy to work with. It glides through the needles well, and I didn't experience any splitting of the fibers at all. In the close-up photo you can see that the stitches look a little bit crimpy from the tencel content, but I'm sure that will relax once the sweater is complete and blocked.
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Here you can see the contrast between the back and the front of the sweater. For the top portion of the sweater (from the shoulders down to where the armholes are completed), I was knitting only with one skein of yarn back and forth. I then joined in the second skein once I was knitting in the round and alternated skeins to try to cut down on color pooling. On the back you can't tell much of a difference, but on the front you can see a pretty clear line of where I brought in the second skein. Since this is a casual top, it doesn't bother me too much, but I thought I would point it out. It's a good reminder to always alternate skeins when using a speckled colorway like this!
Verdict: I thought this was a great KnitCrate box! I love getting a large amount of yardage, and I liked being able to try new types of fibers. If you are a knitter or crocheter who is open to trying new types of yarn, this would be a great subscription box to check out! For $24.99, we received two skeins of yarn, 4 knitting and crochet patterns, and a handpainted button with a total value estimated around $100.50. This is a higher value than usual for a KnitCrate box, which is great! I think this is an amazing value for what you receive, since high-end, premium yarn is usually around $25-35 per skein in a local yarn store, and most patterns on Ravelry are $5-10 each.
A few other things that are good to know: If you follow KnitCrate on Instagram or join their Ravelry group, they reveal spoilers at the end of each month (usually around the 20th) before the subscription renews on the first. They then release all the details on the yarns and patterns on the 1st of the month. March's reveal post is here. If you are pickier about what fibers you like to use or want to avoid certain colors, these would be great to check out. Otherwise, you won’t know what the theme, yarn, or patterns will be before they renew your subscription for the month.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'll receive the March box if you order before the end of the month (while supplies last).
Value Breakdown: At $24.99, here’s approximately what you are paying for each item:
- Audine Wools Shine sport Yarn - $12.93 ($6.46 per skein)
- Pattern Booklet - $9.95
- Button - $2.11
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What did you think of the February 2020 KnitCrate Membership Crate? Let us know in the comments!
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